


Crush

by cheesesan



Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Blood, Crush, F/F, First Aid, First Kiss, Stephanie Brown is Batgirl, Stephanie is a disaster cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 14:19:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18412379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheesesan/pseuds/cheesesan
Summary: Stephanie worries about being the new Batgirl and if her role could damage Oracle's reputation. So she tries her best not to worry.And she fails. Hard.





	Crush

**Author's Note:**

> I loved Stephanie's run as Batgirl and loved her relationship with Barbara on these comics, so I wanted to write something with them here. I'll try sometime again with Barbara as Batgirl and Stephanie as Spoiler too, because I love their relationship.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this fic.

It was a normal night all around. It meant that Stephanie had already beaten a dozen of generic looking thugs on the spam of the last two hours. She finally found room for some breathing after finishing the random bad guys of the night and giving some tips for Gotham police to come around to get them as soon as possible.

 

_“Everything alright there, Batgirl?”_

 

The voice on her ear distracted her from her own raged breath, trying to find some voice as fast as possible to answer.

 

“Everything’s great, Oracle.” Stephanie answered, doing her best not to sound absolutely exhausted like, in fact, she was. She still wanted to prove her worth and not to sound like some Batgirl wannabe trying not to die after beating some random drug dealers.

 

She had been working as Batgirl for almost four months now and Stephanie thought she was doing a pretty good job. But, as much as hurt, it felt as if her progress wasn’t going as fast as it really could. It was unfair to require that she should have the same experience that someone like _Barbara Gordon_ had as Batgirl in such a short amount of time. She was getting better and evolving. Baby steps.

 

She knew this. Rationally.

 

But, gosh, if it wasn’t frustrating, she sighed loudly while rubbing her hands on the face. Only the skin covered by the mask wasn’t damped in cold sweat. Stephanie loved the feeling of a good workout and of a job well done that came after a night of patrolling or working on a case. Working together with Barbara also helped, because she felt Oracle truly cared for her growth both as the old Batgirl and as a fellow vigilante.

 

_But_ …

 

Stephanie hated to admit, but Barbara’s presence helped and made things worse at the same time. Stephanie loved to work with her and truly felt like she could trust her own life to Barbara.

 

_But…_

 

Stephanie let out yet another heavy sigh. She was waiting for Oracle to update the situation about the drug cartel they had been trying to bust for the last two weeks. Stephanie was investigating the thugs on the streets and Oracle was, of course, dealing with the hard info. So, the new Batgirl had some time to rest while the other woman updated their case with the information Stephanie just gave to her.

 

Resting her back against the cold concrete of the building she was on top of, Stephanie let her thoughts dwell on complicated… feelings. The idea of having complicated feelings right now irked her, with college work, vigilante issues and personal life, etc. etc.,. But she knew that she was a normal person and would have feelings and work through them if it was possible. Preferably, in a healthy way.

 

She knew the source of frustration was her own powerlessness. But Stephanie was working hard every day to get stronger, faster; as good as she could be to help other people.

 

So she also knew there was nothing she could do but to be patient at the pace of her own growth. Barbara was helping with training so it wasn’t like she was doing everything alone and didn’t have another person opinion about the new Batgirl’s growth. Barbara was amazing as Oracle and said Stephanie was doing just fine.

 

_But…_

 

Stephanie felt childish, but she didn’t want to be just fine. She wanted to be great. The best vigilante ever. Okay, so she couldn’t be Dick, first boy wonder and now Batman and neither could she be Damian who, she hated to admit, probably trained his whole life even while still pooping on his pants. Or Cassandra, who was Batgirl before and made her heart ache both with feelings of loneliness, of a girl who missed her friend, and of a fellow vigilante who _knew_ she could be better.

 

She knew it was unfair to compare herself to other people, but the sooner she got stronger, sooner there could be less people being hurt.

 

_“Batgirl, I’ve gathered the information you gave to me. I think you should come back to the base for a bit so I can update you and give you new directions, since there are a lot of things to work with. And you sound kind of tired, so a break would be good, since you are close right?”_

The voice on her head brought her back from the thoughts and at the same time made her cringe at her weakness. Stephanie sometimes forgot Barbara could watch her from afar and probably saw her fighting tonight, looking kind of…sloppy, to put it kindly.

 

“Sure, I’ll be there in ten probably.” Stephanie answered, trying not to sound too disappointed.

 

She jumped from one building to another, making her way towards where Oracle was waiting for her. Stephanie hated to admit, but it was kind of dreadful to go met the other woman right now. She thought her performance tonight was kind of a letdown and was dreading to get an earful from Barbara. Sure, Oracle had the best intentions towards helping Batgirl, but...

 

_“It’s kind of a letdown to hear your_ _predecessor and kind of mentor-partner-vigilante-against crime talk about how much of a disaster you are_ ”, Stephanie thought, well aware of how dejected and dramatic she sounded. But she couldn’t help thinking Barbara was going to talk badly of her, even if she knew that Barbara wouldn’t do that since this kind of thing wouldn’t contribute to Batgirl’s growth anyway.

 

Stephanie couldn’t understand herself. She wanted to be better to help other people. And for that she needed to get stronger as faster as possible. For that she was training every day, going to patrol every day and doing her best to not mess up.

 

But Stephanie was also afraid of fucking up. Not only for herself, but also for Barbara, who trusted her to try to do a decent job.

 

_“….The idea of Oracle only trusting me for a decent job is so depressing…”_ She thought while jumping to another building, getting closer and closer to their base.

 

Stephanie was afraid of letting Barbara down and losing the trust of the other woman. What if her reputation as Oracle got bad because the new Batgirl did a bad job or something like that? Stephanie worried about what kind of bad things her own weakness could bring to her partner and wondered if Barbara wouldn’t be able to do a better job with other person or even alone.

 

_“I mean… Because I wouldn’t stop acting as Batgirl Barbara had to step up, but…”_ The blonde woman sighed, conscious she was only making herself more and more depressed for probably no reason. She also felt childish wanting Barbara’s approval like that.

 

_“I mean, that’s normal. O has way more experience than me as vigilante, both acting as Batgirl and even more as Oracle. Hell, I think she could easily throw me or something, she has big muscles on her arms from what I saw the last time she wore a sleeveless shirt…Huh, that’s kind of hot actually-“_

 

At that line of thought, Stephanie messed up and ended tripping on a building, falling on her arms on the top of the roof. Letting out a pained sound, she got up and cringed at herself.

 

“Huh, what the fuck was that? What kind of thought was that??” The woman spoke loudly to herself, ignoring if someone could hear. Her own thoughts were weirder right now and she felt her face getting warmer.

 

_“I mean…of course I know Barbara is a pretty woman! I would have to be blind to not see that, but what the fuck was that?”_ Stephanie sprinted towards another building, trying to calm herself after tripping and after that…weird…thought.

_“But, I mean, it’s only that right? I can totally think O’s pretty and hot with her muscular strong arms and big brain in a normal way right? Right! That’s cool!”_ Batgirl thought, ignoring the heat she felt creeping up her face, making the mask feel way tighter and hotter than it was; she picked up her pace and ran towards their base, trying to ignore if it would be awkward to see Barbara right now.

_“Nah, it’s going to be fine.”_

“Right? Right!”

 

\------

 

Barbara kept her eyes glued on the screen, deep in thought to avail and understand the information Stephanie gave to her. The drug cartel they were working against was smaller than initially thought, but it was better always to be careful. Barbara considered Stephanie evolution on the last months and smiled, confident that the blonde girl could do a good job on that.

 

Hearing a loud sound in the back, Barbara took off her glass to rub her tired eyes, turning to talk to Stephanie. She stopped on her tracks when the other woman approached.

 

“Stephanie, what the-? What happened??” Barbara exclaimed loudly, referring to Stephanie’s arms and legs which were all bruised with some parts of the uniform torn out. Her face also had some scratches, which left Barbara even more confused and worried since she was pretty sure Stephanie looked less hurt when she last appeared in one of the various cameras that Oracle had access through Gotham.

 

“Ah…” Stephanie looked surprised at the other woman reaction and looked around her body, dusting off her uniform, a light blush spreading on her face “I fell when coming back here. Got…distracted and tripped on one roof, hahaha…. I’m okay though!” She answered, clenching her fists and smiling. Barbara sighed, rubbing her face.

 

“God…Please be more careful, distractions can be fatal on the line of our job.” Barbara said, annoyed and relived at the same time. She went towards Stephanie and grabbed her arm. The other girl stiffened, to which Barbara raised an eyebrow.

 

“What’s up? There’s a lot of rips on this sleeve and you got a pretty bad cut there.”

 

“Huh, what?” Stephanie looked at her arm and saw some blood dripping from the shallow but long cut. She wondered if her distracting thoughts were too much since she just ignored the pain, blushing when remembering about that. She was blushing so hard that the mask didn’t hide it, creeping to her neck.

 

“What’s wrong?” Barbara’s worried voice didn’t help, making her blush grow deeper and Stephanie panicked a little bit.

 

“I’m okay! I’m gonna just treat this little cut and then I can go back!” The girl couldn’t help her panicked voice, trying not to stutter and feeling self-conscious about the other woman, much closer than she would like right now.

 

“Wait.” Barbara grabbed her arm “That’s your dominant arm; it’s going to be a pain to do it yourself. Let me help and I can update you on the case while I’m on it.” Barbara smirked, letting go of Stephanie’s arm and going through the lockers, grabbing some first aid.

 

Stephanie sat quietly, with parts of her uniform off to help Barbara’s work. The redhead cleaned and bandaged her cuts carefully, talking to Stephanie while working.

 

The blonde girl tried to pay attention to details of the case as Barbara spoke, nodding slowly when talked to. But it was hard because she was too distracted by the other woman. Self-conscious by her own thoughts, Stephanie couldn’t help but notice small things she never paid attention before. Like how Barbara’s hands felt big and warm against her skin, treading carefully around the blonde girl’s small injuries.

 

How her arms looked strong and soft, wondering how it would feel to touch them. Her vivid colorful redhead hair, tied on a bun and with some bangs falling on her face.

 

Her freckles on her light skin around her nose and Stephanie couldn’t help but wonder if Barbara had freckles on other places too, blushing at the thought once again.

 

The girl was brought back from her fantasies by a soft, calloused hand against her damp forehead. Stephanie felt startled, not daring to move.

 

“Are you sure you okay? Your skin is slightly red, do you feel feverish or something like that? You could go home for tonight, they won’t do anything else since you destroyed that operation base.” Barbara said staring Stephanie. The blonde girl panicked a bit.

 

“n-No! It’s fine. I don’t want to compromise our job!” Stephanie said, getting up suddenly and hitting her scarred arm against the wall. She winced in pain, holding the arm against her chest and falling on the chair again. Barbara chuckled.

 

“Stephanie… I’m glad you are taking this seriously, as I knew you would, but… you can’t be reckless and throw yourself in danger.” Barbara smiled to her, pulling the girl’s arm again to check where she hit. “If you’re worried about your performance, don’t worry; you’re doing great. But to keep working hard like that you have to take care of yourself too, okay?”  She caressed Stephanie’s arm, smiling warmly to the girl.

 

Stephanie felt overwhelmed, tears forming on the corner of the eyes because of the pain. The annoying thoughts from earlier and the compliments from Barbara now made her head feel dizzy with embarrassment. She looked at Barbara, pouting, who gave her an inquiring look while storing the things she used to patch the blonde girl.

 

“What is it?”

 

“You’re unfair. Being all nice and helping me.”

 

“Huh? What do you mean?”

 

Stephanie felt embarrassed and childish, pouting while trying to get rid of these annoying feelings. She didn’t want to have a _crush on her_ _mentor-partner-vigilante-something!_ But she couldn’t think what would explain whatever she had been feeling for the last months since she started working with Barbara. Sighing, Stephanie thought it would be better to ignore it, when she looked at the other girl. Barbara was staring her with a… curious and annoyed kind of look on her face.

 

“huh, what-what is it?” Stephanie said, putting her uniform back on her upper body.

 

“Stephanie…do you have something you want to talk about?” And even with her expression looking annoyed, Stephanie could _hear_ Barbara laughing by the tone of her voice.

 

“Wha-what do you mean?” Stephanie said, putting her uniform faster, only her mask left out. “You’re being weird now.”

 

“Oookay.” Barbara smirked, going towards her computer on the other room. “But I have no time for dealing with little girl’s feelings, so if you can’t be forward, then I won’t be able to do anything to help you.”

 

Hearing this, Stephanie felt annoyed and embarrassed. She felt the blood going to her head and, before being able to think more, sprinted towards the other woman.

 

“B-Babs, wait!”

 

The blonde girl grabbed the other girl’s shoulders, which resulted on Stephanie being thrown on the air and falling in front of Barbara’s chair. Feeling dizzy on the cold floor, Stephanie blushed hard hearing Barbara’s laugh.

  
“Gosh, I’m sorry, it’s hard not to mess with you when you look so lost. It’s cute.” The woman laughed, offering her hand to help Stephanie get up. The girl grabbed her hand and kept angrily staring at Barbara while kneeling on the floor. She put her hands on Barbara’s chair armrests, pouting, to which the redhead smiled and caressed Stephanie’s cheek.

 

“Hmm? What do you want?” Barbara asked with a playful smirk on her face.

 

Stephanie put one of her hands on top of Barbara’s on her face, enjoying the pleasant soft feeling against her cheek.

 

“Why are you so cool, Babs?” Stephanie pouted, closing her eyes to enjoy the closeness  and trying to ignore the sound of her heartbeat going crazy on her chest.

 

“It’s in my nature. I can’t help it.” She smirked, which earned a laugh from the other girl. “No, actually… It’s more like a characteristic all the Batgirls have. Just like you.”

 

Barbara’s answer made Stephanie widen her eyes and blush even more. Smiling, Barbara reacted pressing her lips against the other girl lips. Stephanie didn’t know how to react, except to notice how soft Barbara’s lips were and worry if her own lips didn’t feel dry or chapped. She didn’t know what to do with her hands until Barbara grabbed one of her hands and put on her shoulders, grabbing Stephanie by her waist and drawing her closer.

 

Stephanie felt good, letting out a pained moan because of her scrapped knees on the cold floor, but that was nothing compared to the pleasure she was feeling. Barbara’s lips felt so right against hers, she couldn’t help but let out a little moan when their mouths opened and their tongues touched, her fingers going up and caressing Barbara’s vivid, pretty hair.

 

Feeling breathless and overwhelmed, Stephanie was kind of relieved when Barbara let go of her mouth, pressing a light kiss against her cheek. Blushing, the blonde looked at the other girl, a questioning look on her face.

 

“Okay, now you better, go.” Barbara said, letting go of Stephanie and moving her chair towards her computer.

 

“Huh?” Stephanie let out a disheartened sound, unable to understand why Barbara stopped and wondering if she did something wrong. Almost sensing what she was feeling, Barbara smiled.

 

“Don’t worry, you didn’t do anything wrong. I mean, it’s going to be better for both of us to work hard if we have something to look forward to after we’re done with this case, right? So, get on with it, Batgirl, so we can keep doing whatever we were doing here.” Barbara waved to the other girl and turned to look at her computer’s screen.

 

Heartbroken to stop, but feeling cheerful with the promise of doing something more after the case, Stephanie sighed and got up, putting her mask back.

 

“You’re right. I’m on it, Oracle!” Stephanie said cheerfully, no hints of sadness on her voice. Hearing Batgirl leave their base, Barbara sighed and adjusted her hair, left a bit messy by Stephanie’s hands.

 

“God, she has no right to be that cute…. Uughh…” Barbara put her hands on her face, suddenly feeling it heat up.

 

On the buildings near there, Stephanie jumped cheerfully, sprinting towards the next target, feeling happier than ever.

 

Who said fighting for justice had to be no fun at all?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. If you find any errors, please let me know.


End file.
